Sept 2011

The final notice was posted for the Heap Road upgrade, however, you may have seen an article in the Observer where someone was complaining about horses going up the ginnell.The council have received a number of objections, all quite small and irrelevant apparently but until they are resolved the upgrade can’t be finalised.Hopefully this won’t go to a public enquiry.

·Path Behind the Dexine Development (Redrow) The closure notices have been put up, however, the dates shown suggest that it is closed now and work has not yet started.No doubt fences will just go up one day.

·Paperhouse River Crossing

We have spent £250 on improving the river crossing near Paperhouse Bridge.The steps on the slope down to the river have been removed and a tiger trap installed on the flat at the top.The sides have been dug out so that motorbikes can’t go around as the landowner is fed up of motorbikes messing around down there.

·Sillinghurst Windmills

A planning application has been resubmitted to install some windmills right on Castle Hill Road.Objections have been raised and it was rejected previously.

·Chicken Farm Road

Following a couple of accidents on the concrete road that leads down to the chicken farm at Birtle, we have met with the landowner and the council to try and find an alternative route but our suggestion has been turned down.The other suggestion was to put a more horse friendly surface down but the cost for this is fairly restrictive so at the moment this doesn’t look like anything is going to change.Reviews

·On 27th June Chris Peat gave an interesting talk about rides in other areas and also showed some lovely pictures of what is available to us not that far from home.

·The ride around Cowm reservoir on 3rd July was very well attended (probably too well), but it was a lovely sunny day and everyone enjoyed it, I think.

·The treasure hunt on 24th July went very well.The results were:

Results - 1st Lancashire Hotpots 39 points 2hrs 38 mins

2nd Trickett's Specials 38 points 2hrs 13 mins

3rd Golden Dun & 2 Bays 38 points 3hrs 27 mins

4th 4 No Blonds 36 points 2hrs 22 mins

5th Two Gillians 35 points 2hrs 37 mins

6th Clipcloppers 33 points 2hrs 48 mins

·The photo show was well attended and the rosettes for the treasure hunt were presented.Unfortunately I didn’t pay enough attention to the winners of the photo show so can’t pass that on, sorry, I know I didn’t win anything.We would like to thank Carol & John from The Pack Horse for judging the classes for us.

·Last month’s quiz was once again very well attended.A team consisting of Irene Pope, Carol Pritchard, Carol Crabtree and Dot Barlow won a big tin of chocolates.Well done.

·Gosh there seems to have been a lot going on since my last newsletter… the last thing is the Le Trec competition which took place on 29th August, bank holiday Monday.There were 30 teams entered some from as far afield as Blackpool.Everyone enjoyed the day and we were really grateful for all the help we received from members, non-members and friends who were roped in.Danielle Marshall won the individual competition and the team competition was won by Joan Snowdon and Gwen Mann.Full results are available on the website.Once again, Irene did a fantastic job organising this.We would also like to thank Robinsons Equestrian Centre for hosting the event free of charge.

Dates for Your Diary

·Sunday 25th September

Ride to Watergrove Reservoir, Wardle.Meet at the top of Woodhouse Lane at 10.30 am or at about 10.45 am at Lane Head (Rooley Moor crossroads).Bridleway vests should be worn.Bring a picnic if you wish.This ride will probably take between 4 and 5 hours depending on the length of stop time.

·Monday, 26h September

Fashion Show 8.30 pm prompt at The Pack Horse.Naylors have organised this event and have put a lot of effort in.They will be showing the new season clothing, including their exclusive range.

·Monday, 31st October

Next year’s joint master from the Holcombe Hunt is coming to speak to us.8.30 pm at The Pack Horse.

We are having a Christmas Party this year, Carol at the Pack Horse is letting us have the £15.95 menu for £10.00 per head, shown below.There is a maximum of 40 places available so if you want to come please confirm as soon as possible by completing the form below and enclosing full payment with your booking.

would like to attend the Christmas Party on 3rd December at the Pack Horse

Number of places _______________

Starters: _________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Main Courses: _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Desserts: _________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

£10.00 PER PERSONTOTAL PAYMENT INCLUDED:_£___________________

A bit of fun

Here are some amusing quotes about horses.

·A Dog looks up to a man,A cat looks down on a man,But a patient horse looks a man in the eye and sees him as an equal.

·A woman needs two animals: The horse of her dreams and a jackass to pay for it

·Poverty is another word for owning a horse...

·When riding my horse I no longer have my heart in my chest, but between my knees.

·When in doubt, ask a horse.

·A good rider can hear his horse speak to him.A great rider can hear his horse whisper.But a bad rider won't hear his horse even if it screams at him!

·Grooming: the process by which the dirt on the horse is transferred to the groom.

Well I think that’s probably enough of that.

We are starting to think about the social calendar for next year so if there is anything in particular you are interested in or would like to get a speaker on a particular subject please let one of the committee know.We are always open to new ideas as it’s really hard to keep thinking of things.Janet O’Connor has done a cracking job over the last two years getting interesting and different speakers (most of them for free) so any help we can give her I’m sure would be most welcome.